


Forged Under the Stars

by xfsista



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, D/Hr, DH: EWE, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-25
Updated: 2011-11-25
Packaged: 2017-10-26 12:38:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/283238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xfsista/pseuds/xfsista
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While searching for a missing Hermione, Draco remembers the defining moments that brought them together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forged Under the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time participating in this kind of challenge. I don't know who nominated me, but I'm truly flattered. I hope whoever tossed my name into the ring is pleased with my effort. I had a lovely time writing it. :)

  


The night sky was clear; the moon reflected off the snowy ground lighting his way. His legs burned from the exertion of trudging through the white drifts, and he wondered if his toes would ever be warm again. Yet he continued. He had to. If he didn’t…

Shaking his head, he forced that thought out of his mind. This time he would succeed. There was no other option.

He stopped and pulled out his wand and the piece of parchment with the coordinates to his destination. Looking up at the sky, he was grateful for the lack of clouds for he needed the stars to guide his way - to guide him to her.

Draco sighed, his breath visible in the cold air. So many of the most memorable moments they had shared had taken place under the veil of darkness with only the stars bearing witness.

Moving forward again, he thought about the first time he ever saw her.

***

The boats bobbed in the water as they were pulled toward the twinkling lights of Hogwarts. Draco didn’t want to admit it, but he was excited and maybe a little nervous. Being the proud, haughty boy that he was, he turned his head away and acted like he was unimpressed.

His eyes flitted to the other first years. He caught sight of Harry Potter sitting next to that ginger-haired moron and twisted his face into a disgusted sneer. How dare that four-eyed git choose a Weasley over him? Narrowing his eyes, Draco told himself he wouldn’t forget that snub anytime soon.

Sitting in the boat with Potter and Weasley was a chubby faced boy and a girl with hair like he had never seen. Well, maybe on an animal, but not a person. In the glowing light from the lantern, he could see her eyes were rounded and mouth opened in awe. She shook her head a little and pursed her lips before she turned to the boy next to her and started talking. The boat wasn’t close enough, so Draco couldn’t hear everything she said, but he was pretty sure he caught something about _Hogwarts: A History_.

She didn’t look familiar to him, so she clearly didn’t belong to any respectable pureblood circles. Draco wondered if she was from a family of blood traitors or maybe she was a half-blood - or worse. Perhaps she was one of _those_ kinds his father had warned him about; the kind he was warned to stay away from.

He supposed he’d find out soon enough.

As if she felt his gaze upon her, the frizzy-haired girl stopped talking and caught his eyes. Slowly, her lips upturned into a shy, friendly smile. Not sure what compelled him to do so, Draco smiled back.

Those tentative first smiles were forgotten as both turned to face the castle looming imposingly. With a nervous sigh, Draco began to worry what would happen if he wasn’t sorted into Slytherin.

***

Everything seemed too loud as the Great Hall buzzed with activity. Healers darted about the room, tending to the wounded and transporting them to St. Mungo’s. Others were mourning those who had died. He spotted a gaggle of redheads consoling one another and knew that a Weasley had perished. An Auror had just grilled him about the events leading up to that day and was now questioning his parents.

Draco was tired. If he could make a wish in this moment, it would be for silence from the noise in the room and in his head. Never had he felt so many things at once: relief after living in terror for so long, the uncertainty of his place in the world, and the sadness of Crabbe’s death. He wanted to fall into his bed and sleep for a year without thinking about the emotional turmoil torturing his mind.

Deciding that he’d had enough, Draco slipped from the room and stepped out into the night. The air inside had been stifling, but the spring evening was brisk and clean. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs to capacity, before releasing a slow breath. Dodging rubble, he made his way down a path to a secret spot which he had escaped to many times in his years at Hogwarts.

He was surprised to find it was already occupied.

Hermione Granger looked over her shoulder and met his eyes. In the dying light, he could see dried tear tracks in the dirt on her face. Without a word, she faced forward again. Taking her silence as indifference to his presence, Draco sat down several feet away from her.

Together, they sat quietly taking solace in the stillness of the night; the only sounds came from crickets and bullfrogs.

They didn’t move when the stars appeared, nor when the temperatures cooled. As the the dew fell and the birds began chirping their morning song, they sat there still. When the light of dawn began bleeding into the darkness, the spell was finally broken and Granger stood and walked away leaving him to face his demons alone.

***

Draco huffed and pulled up his collar to block the icy air from hitting his neck. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but at some point in his life, he had started to hate New Year’s Eve. It was a time when everyone made resolutions and promises of change. Yet nothing ever did. Year after year, he wished and waited for something to give him hope. All he ever got was the same shit on a different day filled with the same mindless people.

He was fairly certain that boredom would be his ultimate demise; it would probably come in the form of a witch his mother set him up with as a mean to push him into marriage.

Narcissa Malfoy would be in a right state when she found out her only son had left Astoria Greengrass - a very attractive and eligible pureblood witch - at a party after hours of listening to her prattle on about every social function she had planned for the next five months. His mother would be upset, but he was pretty sure his erstwhile date would recover. When he had left, she was getting to know a dark haired gentleman with her tongue.

On his way to the nearest Apparation point, the door of a local pub swung open nearly hitting him in the face. A woman staggered out angrily and slipped on a patch of ice, twirling once before landing heavily on his chest. To keep them both from tumbling to the ground, he grasped her around the waist and held her against him.

Looking down, Draco was surprised to that his arms were full of the last person he expected to see. Judging by the look on her face, she was equally shocked. Her cheeks were rosy, but from alcohol or embarrassment, he wasn’t sure. However, he was quite sure of how good she smelled. Though he was reluctant to admit it, even to himself, she looked very pretty, too.

Unexpectedly, she began to laugh.

With a raised brow, he asked, “Are you drunk, Granger?”

“Maybe just a little,” she said through her giggles. “This may be the most absurd position I’ve ever found myself in.”

Strangely, Draco found himself chuckling along with her. It was a bizarre feeling. It had been a long time since he had so much as smiled, and the muscles around his mouth felt strained from disuse. Yet, he felt better than he had in ages.

Together, they laughed, and the tension ebbed away. To passersby, it appeared as if they were two old friends sharing a mirthful moment.

The sounds of partygoers counting down interrupted them, and Draco noticed he was still gripping her tightly against him. His heart thumped loudly as he realized what traditionally happened at this time on this night and who he was holding in his arms.

He also realized that he didn’t mind.

Three…

Two…

One…

Raising herself up on her toes, Granger met his lips for a chaste, but lingering kiss. Her lips were soft and felt incredibly warm in contrast with the cool air of the night. Before he could explore further, she pulled away and slipped back down on flat feet.

“Happy New Year, Draco,” she whispered. With a glance and a shy smile, she pulled back and walked away leaving him dumbstruck under the starry sky.

It was a long time before the heat of her kiss dissipated.

Maybe there was hope for the future to be had after all.

***

There were a lot of things that Draco imagined he would do in his life. Eating dinner with the Weasley family never even made the list. Yet he found himself in the middle of ginger hell. It was all Granger’s fault. Their burgeoning friendship compelled her to invite him to get to know the people she considered family. He had really wanted to decline, but she gave him that doe-eyed look that made him want to do stupid things.

It started out okay, but when one redhead in particular showed up, Draco’s instinct to run kicked in and he knew he should have followed his gut. Although they had not been together in some time, Ron Weasley still held a grudge against Granger for breaking up with him. Bringing Draco to dinner only added fuel to the fire.

Throughout the meal, Draco sat as thinly veiled insult after insult was volleyed toward him. He itched to throw a hex at the prat, but he held back because of the girl sitting next to him. Her body was rigid with tension and he refused to add to it. At the end of this night, he was fucking determined to walk out looking like the better man.

When the freckled bastard made a disparaging comment about his mother, the table went silent and all eyes were on Draco. With a tight nod, he stood, thanked Mrs. Weasley for dinner, and walked out the door. As soon as he crossed the threshold, a cacophony of voices exploded inside the house. He made it outside of their wards, but didn’t Disapparate. Instead, he just kept walking until he was too exhausted to be angry anymore.

Stopping at the edge of a field, Draco plopped down on the grass and stretched out with his hands behind his head and stared into the sky.

A short time later, he heard the rustling sound of someone walking toward him. He didn’t need to look to know that it was Granger. Without saying anything, she laid down beside him.

Together, they stared at the twinkling dots of light that broke up the inky blackness.

“What are you doing?” she finally asked.

Draco considered her question. “Trying to find my way,” he answered truthfully.

“And you’re looking to the stars?”

“Some believe that there are answers to be found through them.”

“I can’t imagine how anyone can find answers in balls of gas.”

He turned his head toward her and raised an eyebrow. “You really know how to take the romance out of something, Granger.”

Rolling onto her side, she crooked her elbow and propped her hand up to support her head. With an amused smile, she asked, “Were you trying to be romantic, Draco?”

“No!” The denial came out a little too quick. Feeling foolish, he jerked his head back to face the sky.

The grass crinkled as Granger shifted until she was hovering over him and blocking his view. The lighting had already been considerably dim, but with her face over his, he couldn’t see a thing. He was only aware of the feeling of her erratic breaths ghosting over his lips and the pounding of his heart.

For the first time in two years, they kissed. Her lips were just as soft and warm as Draco remembered. Rolling them over to reverse their positions, he slipped his tongue over their velvety plumpness. Opening her mouth, Granger stroked her tongue against his and the sensation sent a shot of desire through his body. Draco lightly rubbed her side with his thumb as she ran her hands through his hair, scratching his scalp gently with her nails. She nipped at his bottom lip and then proceeded to suck on it.

He didn’t find the answers for which he was searching, but he did find that Hermione Granger was a really good kisser.

On that night, perhaps it was the only answer he needed.

***

“You’re a genius, Granger.”

Reveling in the slipperiness of her naked and wet body, Draco was genuinely grateful for her brilliant idea. The July night was sweltering and he surely couldn’t think of a better way to cool off than a little skinny dipping in the small pond near the house they had been sharing for the last year.

Pulling her forward, he wrapped his arms around her and situated his leg between hers, rubbing it against her sex. He looked down at the globes of her breasts bobbing in the moonlight and leaned forward to suck the water from her collar bone. Hermione moaned as he licked his way up her neck and jaw until he finally made contact with her mouth for a searing kiss. Working her into a frenzy, he felt her grinding against his thigh; he couldn’t help but chuckle at her whine of annoyance when he pulled away. Draco picked her up and carried her from the water and up on the shore.

Goosebumps popped up all over her skin; he was uncertain it if was from the night air over her damp body or from need. After laying her on a towel, he swooped down, capturing one of her nipples in his mouth, swirling his tongue over the hardened peak. Hermione whimpered with pleasure as her hips lifted and circled looking for some kind of friction.

“Draco, please!”

Moving over her, he plunged his cock into her heat. He pulled back and pushed again into her. She made little squeaky panting sounds that drove him wild as he whispered dirty words into her ear.

Hermione wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly; his bare chest rubbed against hers. “Love you on top of me,” she whispered breathlessly. “So close…”

Draco hoped that she meant she was close to orgasm because he wasn’t sure he was going to last much longer. The soft tightness of her pussy was torturing him in the most exquisite way. Picking up the pace, he flexed his arse and rolled his hips into her over and over.

“Oh… Oh… Coming!”

The spasm of her internal muscles squeezing his cock sent him over the edge.

“Fuck!” he yelled; the swear word echoed loudly in the outdoors.

Rolling onto his back, Draco wasn’t sure if the stars he saw were real or a by-product of making love to her.

***

Walking hand in hand through Diagon Alley, Draco felt a jittery excitement in the pit of his stomach. They were walking to dinner, and he had decided that this was the night he was going to propose. They had been living together for a little while, and he wanted to make it official.

While he wanted it to be a surprise, Draco had a suspicion that Hermione might already know. She also seemed to be nervously eager for their date tonight. They had been heading down this path for a while and it was time.

As they strolled by Flourish and Blotts, he could feel her slow down and look longingly through the windows. Draco stopped and looked down at her, but she didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes were on a book in the window display.

With a sigh, he said, “I suppose you want to go in.”

Hermione bit her lip and looked at him apologetically. “I’ll only be a minute.”

“That’s what you always say before you get lost in there for hours.” Before she could even offer a counter argument, he rolled his eyes and gave in. He wouldn't win anyway. “I’ll wait outside, but don’t forget our reservations are for 7:30.”

Reaching up, Hermione kissed him soundly on the mouth and bestowed her loveliest smile upon him. “I promise I’ll be quick!” She moved to step through the door, but stopped to turn around and face him again with a naughty glint in her eye. “I’ll pay you back later, and it will _definitely_ be worth your while,” she said suggestively.

Draco smirked. “I’m going to hold you that.”

While Granger was book shopping, he wandered across the street to check out a window display of the latest brooms. He was looking, but not really seeing as his mind was elsewhere. Sticking his hand into his pocket, Draco fingered a velvet box. Very little surprised him these days, but he was astounded when his mother handed over his great-grandmother’s ring to give to Hermione. His parents hadn’t exactly been accepting, but giving him a family heirloom to slip on her finger was encouraging.

He heard the tinkling of a bell and turned to see Hermione exiting the bookstore. For the rest of his life, Draco would never forget how beautiful she looked in her pretty peach dress.

Nor would he forget watching the most treasured thing in his life be stolen from him.

The wizard came out of nowhere. The strange man startled her as he wrapped his dirty hands around her waist. Hermione dropped her bag of books and reached for her wand, but it was knocked away before she could grab it.

Draco bolted toward them catching the look of terror on her face. The last word he heard from her was the blood curdling screaming of his name before the man Disapparated taking her along with him.

The stars hid that night as the skies wept, drenching the streets in rain.

Much later, after witnesses had been interviewed and he had given all the details to the Aurors - including Harry Potter - Draco found himself standing in the foyer of their house, rainwater dripped off him into a puddle on the floor. The house felt empty without her, and he already knew that he wouldn’t be able to lie in their bed alone.

Rubbing his eyes hard with his fingers, he remembered the bag of books that someone had given him at some point; a bag that he was still gripping. Pulling one out, his heart plummeted, and it was all he could do to keep from vomiting.

In his hand, Draco held a book of baby names.

***

The motive was ransom. The promise was made that Hermione would be returned in exchange a good chunk of the Malfoy fortune. During the money drop, the Aurors apprehended Hermione’s abductor, but not before he managed to perform a botched Obliviate on himself leaving her whereabouts a mystery.

For months, Draco lived in a pit of despair wondering where she and their unborn child could be. These should be happy times filled with preparations for a new life, especially with Christmas around the corner. Instead, it was filled with sadness and worry. He refused to think that they could possibly be dead, but the thought would still creep into the back of his mind.

Finally, there was a break. The Aurors had managed to extract a few vague memories from the kidnapper’s broken conscious.

“It’s not much,” Potter said, “but we've pieced together a few things. They do seem to indicate that Hermione is still alive.”

Draco clung to that hope, but there was still a fear because those memories were months old. If the kidnapper was working alone, Hermione could be locked up somewhere with no means of obtaining food or water. If that was the case, then she wouldn’t have survived.

He voiced these concerns to Potter and was given a little more to cling to.

“We _do_ think he was working alone. However, we have reason to believe that he may have performed a memory spell on her. That way, he could leave her to fend for herself without risking her escaping; she wouldn’t even know she was a prisoner. Let’s just hope he did a better job on Hermione than he did on himself.”

With a sigh of frustration, Draco asked, “What about her location? Any leads on that?”

Potter handed over a piece of parchment. “We have partial coordinates that could possibly point to a few different places. I’m setting up teams to send to the locations.”

Draco clenched his teeth causing his jaw to twitch. “I want in on this, Potter. She…” he trailed off as his throat tightened. He cleared his throat. “ _They_ mean too much for me to sit on the sidelines.”

With a knowing look in his eye, Potter nodded. “I thought you would say that.”

Thus, Draco found himself traipsing through the snowy Alps on Christmas Eve. When he came upon a small cottage on the outskirts of a Swiss village, his heart began to race as if he could feel her closeness. Smoke swirled from the chimney, and the smell of wood burning wafted in the cold, night air; the warm glow of light spilled from the windows, casting golden hued squares onto the snow.

Suddenly, Draco felt like running. Rushing forward, he stumbled through the thick drifts and landed on his face, but popped right back up as if nothing happened.

He was almost there. Almost to her.

When he reached the door, Draco hesitated. It was late in the evening and, if she didn’t recognize him, he would appear as a stranger and could possibly frighten her. Briefly, he considered coming back during daylight, but his need to see her was greater.

Steeling himself, he knocked on the door.

After a moment, no one had answered, so Draco raised his fist to knock again. While his hand was in midair, the door swung open and he froze at the sight before him.

“May I help you?”

Like a fool, he just stared. It was her - his Hermione with the warm, brown eyes and sweet smile; her wild hair was backlit from the light inside. Draco’s gaze traveled down to the protective hand on her swollen stomach.

Their child.

Unexpectedly, his eyes filled with tears and he struggled for breath. It had been _so_ long and the reality of having her near him again overwhelmed him.

“Sir?” she asked worriedly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright? Do you need help?”

Draco wanted to shout that he wasn’t alright. He wanted to hold her close, but couldn’t do that as long as she saw him as a stranger. Carefully, so not to scare her, he pulled his wand out of his pocket.

Merlin, he hoped this worked.

With great precision, he waved his wand and performed the incantation to reverse the memory modification. He knew if he didn’t do it correctly, he risked damaging her mind irrevocably.

With bated breath, Draco watched as her eyes glazed over, and his heart thumped wildly in his chest. When the empty look lasted a second too long, he began to tremble slightly.

Then he saw it - clarity. It was followed by a bit of confusion and finally, recognition.

“Draco?” Her voice was wobbly as the months came rushing back.

Before he could say anything more, Hermione launched herself into his arms. He had to hunch over her protruding belly awkwardly so he could hold her tight. Burying his nose into her neck, he inhaled, relishing the familiar scent of her.

Draco began kissing her all over her face and neck and any place he could reach without moving from the circle of her arms.

Never again would he let her go.

Pulling back, Hermione looked up at him, brushing back the fringe of his hair and tracing her fingers over his face. Her eyes were dewy with tears. “How did you find me?”

Framing her face with his hands, Draco wiped the wetness from her cheeks with his thumbs.

Leaning down until his lips were a hair‘s breadth from hers, he whispered, “I followed the stars.” Draco then closed the distance and kissed her with all that he had.

He had found his way.

  
**The End**   



End file.
